Hierarchical Difference And Visual Representation Of The Figurines Of Guards In Tang Dynasty

In the Tang Dynasty,the ancient painting techniques and the new three-color technology made the visual language of funeral rites expressed by the material media of "tomb figurines" richer and more colorful.The two kinds of "ceremonial figurines" were placed in the tomb niches at the same time.How could the visual expression jointly created by them in terms of configuration,standing position and decoration better demonstrate and convey the information about the identity and rank difference of the tomb owners? This paper needs to discuss the problem.This paper focuses on 11 chronological tombs found in Xi ’an,Shaanxi Province,and Luoyang,Henan Province with official excavation reports,and analyzes and studies the material and visual facts created by the coexistence of painted and three-color terracotta figures in these tombs by means of documentation,historical research,comparative analysis,field investigation and other research methods: Firstly,the specific application of the two techniques in the "ceremonial figurines" group is compared,and the preference and limitation of the bereaved family in choosing the two techniques respectively are analyzed.At the same time,the law of the display and placement of the two techniques in the relevant tomb niches is summarized,and the priority and order of the standing positions between them are summarized.Based on these two points,we found that in the funeral system,there were no explicit norms and restrictions on the application of the two techniques of painting and tricolor respectively in the production and use of the tomb figurines.However,in the tombs of high-ranking officials above the fifth grade,there were obvious differences in the actual application of the two techniques in the production of "ceremonial figurines".It shows that the difference of official rank has specific different requirements for the visual representation of terracotta warriors.Then,on the speculation of the reasons,this paper starts with the appearance decoration and production process of the two crafts to find their respective advantages and disadvantages in visual expression and internal techniques and discusses the possible reasons for their respective selection by the bereaved family,as well as the balance and choice between economic value and visual value contained therein.Based on the above analysis and speculation,when the cost estimates of the tomb figurines made by the two processes may be similar,the reason why more high-level officials choose the painting process to make the terracotta figures may be its simulated visual appearance and the confidence of the bereaved families in its mature production technology.